The Lions Club of Looe is part of the International Association of Lions Clubs. Lions are members of community service clubs, dedicated to the idea that the men and women who live in a community are in the best position to know who needs help and why. There are over 46,000 of these local clubs and all are part of the world’s largest service club organisation, with over 1.3 million members serving in more than 180 countries and areas. The association is both non-political and non-sectarian. Looe is the oldest Lions Club in Cornwall, having been chartered in 1966.
The mission of all Lions Clubs is “To create and foster a spirit of understanding amongst all people for humanitarian needs by providing voluntary services through community involvement and international co-operation”.
We raise money through events such as car boot sales and the annual Duck Race down the river at Looe and use the money raised to help local organisations and individuals in need of support. In addition we participate in international campaigns such as the Vision For All programme targetted as eradicating preventable blindness globally through direct support to vulnerable communities.
In addition to financial aid we assist local charities with direct support such as providing a venue for a local charity to organise and run an event or managing car parking for a charitable event. We also provide direct support to organisations and individuals such as transporting the old or disabled to and from organised events.
The running costs of The Lions Club of Looe, like those of all other Lions Clubs, are met by subscriptions paid by the members, so all monies raised from the public events are used for charitable purposes.